Cowboys’ Aikman to Have Back Surgery

Troy Aikman, Dallas Cowboy quarterback and most valuable player in this year’s Super Bowl, is expected to have surgery to remove a herniated disk fragment in his lower back this morning at Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood and probably will sit out at least the first half of training camp.

The operation, similar to surgery performed on former San Francisco quarterback Joe Montana in 1986, will keep Aikman out of action for at least two months, according to sources close to the situation.

Montana was out two months after his surgery, although doctors called his comeback, “a miracle.”

Aikman suffered the injury several weeks ago while lifting weights. According to Leigh Steinberg, Aikman’s agent, the former Bruin quarterback chose to have surgery rather than undergo an exercise routine in hopes of being ready to play sooner.

“Troy by his nature has been a very fast healer, and has recovered from past surgeries much more rapidly than the projections,” Steinberg said.

Training camp begins in mid-July. The Cowboys regular-season opener is Sept. 6 against the Washington Redskins.

Aikman led the Cowboys to a 52-17 rout of the Buffalo Bills in the Super Bowl in January.